Six stories in the news for today, Aug. 11

August 11, 2017 02:15 am

Six stories in the news for Friday, Aug. 11

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B.C. JOINS LEGAL FIGHT AGAINST TRANS MOUNTAIN

British Columbia says it will join the legal fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, while warning the company it can’t begin work on public land until it gets final approval from the province. The NDP government has hired former judge Thomas Berger to provide legal advice as it seeks intervener status in court challenges against Ottawa’s approval of the $7.4-billion project.

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JUDGE TO IMPOSE SENTENCE IN B.C. CHILD BRIDE CASE

A B.C. judge will sentence a man and woman today who were convicted of taking a 13-year-old girl over the U.S. border over a decade ago to marry the now-imprisoned leader of a polygamous sect. Former husband and wife Brandon Blackmore and Gail Blackmore were found guilty in February of the charge of taking a child under the age of 16 out of Canada for sexual purposes.

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B.C CONSIDERING A BACKCOUNTRY ACCESS BAN DUE TO WILDFIRES

Officials will decide today whether a widespread ban to accessing the backcountry in the B.C. Interior is necessary to help mitigate wildfires. Warm, dry conditions persist throughout the province and thunderstorms in the forecast could bring more lightning that has already been causing new fires to ignite. The B.C. Wildfire Service says human-caused fires must be avoided in the coming weeks so crews can stay focused on the naturally occurring ones.

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MONTREAL POLICE APPROVE NEW CONTRACT

Montreal police officers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a new contract that draws a long-running dispute over pension reforms to a close. The city’s police union says more than 95 per cent of the officers who voted approved the new six-year agreement. The dispute had seen police officers wearing camouflage pants and ball caps between July 2014 and this June to protest the lack of a contract and imposed changes to their pension plans.

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CANADIAN TEEN STUNS TOP-SEED AT ROGERS CUP

Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov is the talk of the tennis world after a stirring upset victory last night at the Rogers Cup. Unseeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., defeated Spanish veteran and top-seed Rafael Nadal in the third round of the tournament in Montreal. After the match, Shapovalov said he always dreamed of facing a player like Nadal, and that beating him is a “dream come true.”

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SHANIA TWAIN TO PERFORM AT GREY CUP

Country music superstar Shania Twain will be the halftime performer at this year’s Grey Cup. The five-time Grammy Award winner from Timmins, Ont., has more than 90 million albums sold worldwide and U.S. sales topping $34.5 million, making her the top-selling female country artist of all time. This year’s Grey Cup will be held in Ottawa on Nov. 26.

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ALSO IN THE NEWS TODAY:

— The federal transport and fisheries ministers will announce temporary measures to address whale deaths in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

— Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan will announce a plan to strengthen the Canadian aerospace and defence sectors.